A's beat Angels, tie for A.L. West lead

OAKLAND -- In a game that featured fabulous pitching on both sides, it hardly figured that Saturday night's mound duel between the A's and the Los Angeles Angels ultimately would be decided on a wild pitch.

But that's how little separates these two American League West heavyweights these days. In fact, after 128 games, the A's and Angels are deadlocked following Oakland's 2-1 victory before a Coliseum sellout crowd of 36,067.

The A's claimed their second straight victory over L.A. when Coco Crisp led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a single and eventually came around to score the tiebreaking run on reliever Joe Smith's very wild pitch. Sean Doolittle then quickly finished things off for Oakland, allowing just a two-out single before notching his 20th save.

The biggest scare of the night for the A's came on the second-to-last pitch of the game, when Doolittle came off the mound grimacing as if he'd hurt himself. He managed to finish the game on his next pitch, but there was initial concern he might have suffered a serious injury to his arm or shoulder.

As it turned out, it wasn't as bad as it looked. Doolittle said there was a tug in his side that felt a bit like a cramp. He felt it again on the pitch that ended the game, but afterward, the left-hander was standing at his locker with a smile on his face. More will be known Sunday, but he thought he was going to be fine.

Advertisement

"It wasn't like a pop or anything, it was more like a grab," he said. "I took a couple of deep breaths, and it went away. I felt it again on the last pitch, and initially it was real tight, and it grabbed again. But by the time I got through the high-five line and back up here (to the clubhouse), it was feeling better, and I was able to do all the tests the trainers put me through."

To be sure, that news made the A's victory, their second straight tough battle against their talented Southern California counterparts, go down a lot better.

Starter Jon Lester was the principal hero for Oakland, battling the Angels' C.J. Wilson to a 1-1 standoff through seven innings, and it was left to the teams' bullpens to settle things. Luke Gregerson set Oakland up for the winning rally by pitching a perfect top of the eighth.

Crisp then opened the bottom of the eighth with a single up the middle against the Angels' third pitcher, Smith. Crisp advanced to second on a Craig Gentry comebacker to the mound and went to third on Josh Donaldson's groundout to second. After Derek Norris was hit by a pitch, Brandon Moss came up to pinch-hit, but Smith did all the work. He uncorked a pitch way high and outside, and it skipped off the glove of catcher Chris Iannetta, and Crisp scored easily.

It wasn't the most artistic way to win a game, but the A's will take it after falling two games behind the Angels in the division before the series began. Now they're once again on even terms -- at 76-52 -- with 34 games to go.

"That's huge against a team as good as they are and as hot as they've been," said Doolittle. "They get a start like that from Wilson, yet we find a way to take advantage of a little miscue late and get a win. It's a big one for us."

Early on for the A's, the game was all about Lester. The veteran lefty threw six shutout innings of two-hit ball and had retired 10 straight entering the seventh inning, and he appeared to get a huge break to start the seventh when the Angels' David Freese hit a ball off the left field wall but was gunned down at second base by Gentry.

"I hoped that would be the big turn in that inning, but then I proceeded to give up another double," said Lester, the beneficiary of several nice A's defensive plays.

Indeed, Howie Kendrick followed Freese with a double over the head of right fielder Sam Fuld, and Erick Aybar then lined a two-strike single to center to bring home Kendrick with the tying run.

The Angels also ran up Lester's pitch count to 109 in the seventh, and he did not return for the eighth. He finished his night having allowed five hits and one walk with seven strikeouts. Three of his strikeouts came against the young star, Mike Trout.

"Maybe we were able to get him off his game a little bit, just enough to frustrate him and get him to swing at some bad pitches," said Lester. "But you're not going to have nights like that too often against him."

MRI results on first baseman Kyle Blanks, who had been on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento, revealed he is suffering left Achilles tendinitis. There is no timetable for his return.